Knowle Village, Hampshire

Residential

This project involved the elegant conversion of two wings of a Victorian hospital into residential units for Berkeley Homes. We were commissioned as architects to prepare designs and working drawings for converting the hospital in a rural setting into 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and 2 bedroom mews houses.

The opportunity was taken to remove later two storey extensions, to restore the external appearance of the building and improve site circulation. 48 units have been created and most have a south or southwesterly main aspect towards mature trees and children’s play areas. External pipework was tidied up and miscellaneous redundant ramps removed.

GHK have retained internal walls and floors wherever possible with minimum demolition work undertaken. All existing stairways have been retained and are used to serve the units. New walls are generally in alignment from floor to floor, respecting the load bearing wall tradition of old buildings. A small number of new windows acknowledge the rhythm of the existing.

GHK were fully involved in the planning consultation process and attended public meetings with local residents. We completed a full working drawings package for Building Regulation approval and visited site regularly to inspect the progress of the works. GHK believes it has lightly touched the original building and has created accommodation with character in an attractive landscaped setting.